31 May 2005
Just caught this blog post about why this person only travel’s with carry-on luggage. I definitely agree, it’s also been my preferred way to fly.
I’ve travelled a lot lately and have never actually missed a connecting flight, but here’s my take on the flying process. First off, I try to only travel with carry-on luggage. I appreciate the piece of mind it gives me knowing that everything is always within my control. The airlines have enough problems just getting flights going on-time let alone making sure your baggage gets to your destination at the same time you do. Even if the baggage does get there, it’s almost gauranteed to get snagged or damaged in some way or another. Between my laptop backpack and my big suitcase, I can fit enough gear to last 12 or so days. Most if not all major airlines will allow you to take 2 carry-on bags so it works perfectly. My secret is to secure an aisle seat which allows me easy access to the overhead storage bins. I also try to be one of the first people on the plane to ensure that I get all my baggage stored securely. There’s nothing worse than being last on the airplane, discovering theres no room for your baggage and being forced to check them or straddle them. Plus, the aisle seat allows you easily grab stuff out of your stored bags rather than having to stuff everything under the seat in front of you and use up valuable foot space.
So there you have it, if you don’t mind carrying your bags, carry-on is the way to go.
31 May 2005
Started reading the following books on my flight back from Boston. Effective Java is a re-read but The Pragmatic Programmer is new to my bookshelf.
31 May 2005
Rod Johnson has updated his Introduction to the Spring Framework article on TSS.
I’ve read the original article and I’m just making my way through the updated version, it introduces a few of the changes in Spring 1.2. It’s something I would definitely recommend reading to anyone considering the use of Spring or is just interested in the framework or its underlying technologies and goals.
Also on my reading list tonight was this O’Reilly Radar article that talked about the items to consider when one is rolling out an open API. It’s a good read and you can definitely tell the synergies between the companies that have done well (dodgeball, flickr, oddpost, ebay developers, yahoo developers, etc.) and the ones that have not. In a way, the success of an application/framework comes down to its attractiveness to developers. Like the article points out, if you’re making developers (in a sense a segment of your customer base) jump through hoops to develop apps using your API, you’re going to have a difficult time being successful. That being said, I did try and sign-up for a Yahoo! developer account and their sign-up process was broken. Not everyone is perfect I guess.
On another note, I failed to get all my chores done tonight. I did go for a run, I did get caught up on my blogs, I did listen to a GNC podcast on the deck, BUT I never did get to updating the resume. That will just have to wait until perhaps tomorrow. I’m going to go read a bit.
Update: I just got an email from Toby Elliott at Yahoo! Webservices looking to get to the bottom of the problem. I just attempted to sign up again for a developer id and it worked like a champ. Kudo’s to Toby and the others at Yahoo! for their responsiveness.